Beyond the Looking Glass
by Crystal Jade
Summary: AU-Sortof: Kagome has been given a mirror that seems to be calling out to her, to go beyond just the surface. She finds herself on the adventure of a lifetime. Maybe even more than she bargined for... Or maybe it's exactly what she needed.
1. Smoke & Mirrors

Author Notes: Sadly enough... I do not own Inuyasha. I just like creating stories based on the characters. Hope you enjoy & let me know what you think!

*~ Crystal Jade ~*

* * *

Kagome just couldn't understand how it worked. She had been looking into the mirror randomly for days now; yet there was no change. She was the only thing that reflected back. She reached out and touched the cool, smooth surface.

"How does this stupid thing work?!" She growled out.

Three weeks ago, she had been given the mirror, as decreed by her father's will. He had kept it after her mother went missing 10 years ago, who had received it from her mother, and who received it from her mother, and so on and so forth. Kagome really didn't know how old the mirror truly was but it did have the wear and tear of aging.

The mirror was a round, full length mirror surrounded by some type of dark wood and had faded, weird symbols ingrained into the wood around the mirror. It was a free standing mirror but the wood was starting to crack and separate in places near the base of the stand. The glass itself was spotted with tarnish and looked like it had been rubbed down in other places so much so that it no longer held a reflection.

She dropped her hand back into her lap.

'I know what I saw...' She mused.

One week ago, while she was sleeping, she was awoken by a cool breeze that had gently caressed her face. When she opened her eyes, she had looked over at the mirror in the corner of her bedroom and saw another world in the mirror. She could see several tall trees covered in moss, with peeps of deep blue and early morning skies through the branches, and tall grass all along a dirt path beckoning her to come on the adventure. The grass looked so green; it looked like it had been painted on. The trees surrounding a dirt path swayed gently back and forth. She could smell the dew on the grass and hear the birds' sweet song of the approaching dawn. It looked simplistically beautiful. There were no other words to describe it. Yet, the moment she leaned up and rubbed her eyes, the world was gone from the mirror. She had not been able to see the place since.

Soon after (as in, later that morning), she decided to look through the rest of the stuff her father and mother had left her. Besides the standard clothes and furniture to give away due to her lack of want and space, she soon found some random, old artifacts. However, as she looked through the boxes and crates, the artifacts seemed to be too authentic, too random in eras, and should have been in a museum. Not only the strangeness of even having them, the artifacts were in pristine condition; like they were worn or used for a short time but then stored away where no moths or humidity could find them. She had found such items as a Civil War nurses' outfit, a French courtier's silk fan, several tribal spears, pelts from various animals, and even a red teacup with black saucer. She wondered how her family had come to possessed them but she didn't give it much more thought once she found what seemed to be a clue to the mirror. Three days ago, she had been searching through a wooden box filled with small trinkets and had found a piece of paper stuffed in a leather pouch. She understood the writing, or riddle, for the most part; yet, however, she had yet to fully understand it.

Kagome looked down once more at the parchment in her hand that had been yellowed with time; she reread the now familiar riddle.

_The Mirror that Transcends Time_

_The mirror will choose ye time in destiny _

_And bring ye to a place which is needed for thee _

_The dangers that lie ahead are for a sound heart_

_But there is the chance ye will lose more than just a part_

_In order to go beyond, ye will have to come_

_Trust, give kinship, step onward, and succumb _

_Do not fret, for once ye arrive, ye can effortlessly go back _

_But, in order for it to close, ye must complete its task_

_Once ye have given all and ye journey is complete_

_Thee will have just once more at a chance, at one last leap_

_So, with this grand chance, what will ye let fate decide?_

_Will ye shall truly live or will ye shall just strictly die?_

Kagome blew out a puff of air and mumbled, "I feel like Alice and the Looking Glass."

She remembered seeing the mirror before in the attic when she lived at home. At that young age of 8, she found it sitting in the far corner and she had asked her mother about it.

* * *

_A little blue-eyed, brunette girl ran to her mother who was sitting in a chair in the living room._

_"Mommy, mommy! I found a cool looking mirror in the attic. Can I have it for my room?"_

_Her mother looked up from her needlepoint with a sharp look on her face, "Darling Kagome, what were you doing in the attic? It's dangerous up there."_

_Kagome blew at her bangs which were dangling in her face. "Oh mommy, there isn't anything up there that is scary. But I did find a cool mirror! Can I pweaassseeee have the mirror for my room?"_

_"Kagome! You are not supposed to be in the attic by yourself, you know that. And no, you cannot have that mirror for your room. You are not ready for it."_

_Little Kagome tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean by that I'm 'not ready for it'? It's just a mirror."_

_She watched as her mother's face relaxed and let out a slow, deep breath and answered, "The mirror reflects what it will want you to see and I mean more than just that that which is skin deep. You are too young to look beyond the looking glass, no matter if your ancestor was younger than you when she did."_

_"My ancestor? Who and what is an ancestor?"_

_Her mother gave her a small smile, "I'll explain it when you get older."_

_Her mother put down her needlepoint and stood up asking "Now, who wants a cookie?"_

_Forgetting about the mirror completely in favor of something sweet, little Kagome started jumping up and down, "Ooo! I do! I do!" _

* * *

At that time, she had no clue what her mom was going on about. It seemed like the mirror and its pull was gone from her thoughts so quickly then. Only 3 years later, her mother finally disappeared after being gone weeks at a time, coming home only to leave again soon after. She never did get the chance to ask again.

Kagome looked into the mirror again. At 21, she had once again become enamored by the mirror. She felt the call it seemed to have on her yet she didn't know how to answer it.

"This is stupid. It's just a mirror."

Biting her lip, she continued, "But... How cool would it be to go on an adventure though?"

Smirking at her own inside joke, she thought 'If it was possible for Alice, why not for me too?'

Standing up, Kagome put the paper down on the dresser and grabbed the paper towels and glass cleaner that was sitting there beside her. She began cleaning it off in swirling motions. As she finished cleaning the upper right hand corner, a part of the paper towel caught on part of what looked to a chip in the glass. She reached up to pull off the torn paper towel. At that moment, the glass cut her finger.

She drew in a quick breath at the sudden pain and gripped her right pointer finger in her left hand. She watched as a bead of blood appeared on her fingertip.

"Ugh. Seriously?!"

She reached up once more and grabbed at the piece of paper towel left, smearing the blood drop onto the mirror. She stepped back and gasped as the mirror reflection changed to the world she had seen a week ago. She could once again feel the gentle breeze again and hear the birds' song.

"H-How?"

She looked at the parchment again that was on the dresser. And noticed the one line of the riddle in particular she had not been able to understand:

_In order to go beyond, ye will have to come_

_Trust, give kinship, step onward, and succumb_

She broke down the phrase, "To go beyond the glass, you have to come... Come to the looking glass. That means step up to it."

She rolled her eyes at the simplicity of it. 'I should have known that.'

"Trust? Hmmm..." Biting her lip, she tilted her head and thought aloud, "Believe that it can be more than a mirror? Okay. But give kinship? Kinship... What is kinship?"

After a moment, she knew. "Kinship: Kindred, Family, Blood."

Reaching up, she slide her finger gently over the chip in the glass again, "Give blood. Only those who have the certain blood line can enter."

She gasped and stepped back again when a random thought hit her. "The story of Alice was real! It was all real and I'm…. I'm related to her! She was the ancestor mom was talking about!"

She looked into the world beyond the looking glass and knew this was her destiny; just as every woman in her family before her. She had come to this point in her life and just knew that she had to decide if she wanted to accept, _'Succumb' to_, her fate or not.

Looking around, she decided, "There is nothing here that needs me right now. College is finish for the summer, all expenses have been paid since getting my inheritance, I have no family left, or many friends that would care. No one will really miss me. So..."

Once more she looked at the mirror and bit her lip again, "Why not?"

Kagome grab the parchment with its leather pouch and took a hesitant step forward and reached out with her hand. Her hand seemed to go through the mirror and she didn't feel anything but the cool air from the other side. She took a deep breath and step through the looking glass.


	2. World in the Looking Glass

Author Notes: Sadly enough... I do not own Inuyasha. I just like to write. Hope you enjoy & let me know what you think!

*~ Crystal Jade ~*

* * *

*Cough, cough, cough*

The moment Kagome stepped beyond the mirror, her eyes watered, her throat constricted, and she began to cough.

*Wheeze*

With her eyes closed and bent over at the waist, she made a verbal note, "Next time, *cough* I need to hold *cough* my breath."

Once she was finally able to clear her throat and take a deep breath, her nose began to tingle next. She had never smelled such clean air before. Back home, even in the country where she had visited as a kid, it never smelled so clean and refreshing. She leaned back up and finally opened her eyes to the world around her.

It was incredible to say the least. The colors alone were deeper and richer than she had ever seen. The grass and trees surrounding the small dirt path that stood before her looked like they had been saturated in a forest green dye before being strategically placed. She could see various colors of unknown, wild flowers growing amongst the grass and trees that lead deeper into the forest. The part of the sky that she could see before trees blocked her view was, funny enough, a deep sky blue with several white, fluffy clouds. A color she never really saw while living in the city among the steel gray buildings and overlying smog. Even though she couldn't see the sun directly, she could see streams of sunlight pelting through the cracks between the leaves of the forest.

However, it was not just her sight that was affected by the beauty before her. She could hear birds chirping, small forest animals scurrying about, and a babbling stream that had to be nearby. There was no constant hum of electricity, no blaring of music or people talking, no honking of car horns. She could feel the warmth of the day from the sun as well as the light, cooling breeze that pulled wisps of hair from out of her ponytail. It was what she would call a perfect day.

As Kagome turned around to look behind her, she involuntarily took a step back and looked up.

"Well, I wasn't quite expecting that…"

The mirror that she had stepped through was mounted against a large stone wall that seemed to stretch on for miles in both directions. The wall itself rose and fell and curved around with the land but had several places where the stones had fallen over and left gaps in the wall. Just barely above the wall, she could see the beginnings of what looked like could be a castle or home of some sort.

Dropping her gaze back to the mirror, she only saw her reflection once again. This mirror looked like what she had stepped through but with no spots of aging or deterioration. However, it was held in place by small stones instead of wood and seemed to blend in perfectly with the stone wall. 'Someone would never even know it was there unless they walked right by it', she concluded. The stones surrounding had the symbols etched into them like on her side. In the top left corner, she could barely make out the chip in the glass that she had accidently used to travel beyond the looking glass.

Once again looking at her reflection, she knew she looked a little out of place with her blue jeans, green t-shirt, and black tennis shoes among all the nature surrounding her.

Shrugging her shoulders, Kagome mused, 'Oh well. It can't be helped.'

Not really sure what to do first, she turned to her right and began walking toward the first gap in the wall.

"Why not visit my neighbors first and find out where I am?"

Stumbling over the stones leading to the gap in the wall, she quickly realized that there would be no neighbors to speak with. The crumbling wall surrounded an even more crumbling castle. Splintered wood, white stones, faded red tiles, and tarnish metal looked to have been tossed about by an explosion and had weeds, vines, and grass growing in-between all the cracks. Trees had already grown among the ruins. One lone castle tower stood near her side of the wall, looking like it would crumble at a gust of strong wind.

Looking at the mess, Kagome whistled low and was at least able to figure out what country she was in. 'Looks like Japan; the remaining castle roof looks similar to what I have seen in pictures. And looks like a battle occurred here a long time ago.' Walking further inward, there were remains of armor, weapons, and giant bones surrounding the once proud castle.

Sighing loudly, she pouted, "Great... I'm in a country where I hardly remember the language. At least I remember some about Japan and its history. Between being both Japanese/American and the extensive research I had to do as a kid, I should be able to get around."

Looking around, she mumbled, "Maybe… Looks like no answers will be had here. But I should arm myself with something before leaving out. Just in case..."

Kagome walked towards a bow and quiver full of arrows lying under a slightly raised slab of stone. They actually looked to be in good condition; especially considering all the destruction around. "Good thing my mother and father wanted me to take archery as a kid."

Thinking about her parents and her childhood, Kagome finally understood why her mom wanted her to be prepared for anything. While most little girls did dance and piano, she could remember being forced to take archery, fencing, swordsmanship, self-defense, and gun control; her mother being more adamant about it than her father. She ended up being homeschooled so that she would have time to work on her electives. It was hard balancing school and training, even more so once her mom disappeared. She never had time for much else. At the time, it never occurred to Kagome why it seemed to be important but she did know that it had taught her grace, appreciation for life, stamina, balance, and control. Unfortunately, it also made her stubborn and quick-tempered. She could make friends easily but once they found out about all that she did, she quickly became an outcast since she couldn't join in all the fun that normal teens engaged in.

Shaking her head of unwanted memories, Kagome armed herself with the bow and arrows, then turned around and walked out the gap she came in at. She walked towards the path that was in front of the mirror. Glancing once more at the mirror, she turned and walked into the forest.

* * *

Walking in the forest was both peaceful and chilling. It was a good 15 degrees cooler than being back at the ruins. The path seemed to narrow more and it was not before long that she came across stone steps that lead downwards. Seeing nowhere else to go, she continued onward. The scenery changed from a lush forest to thick thorns and briar bushes. The path was only one person width across now and seemed to twist and turned like a winding river. Coming around a sharp bend, her path was blocked by a tree that was larger than any tree she had ever seen. The tree looked ancient and held a life all its own.

Looking upward, Kagome could not help but be in awe of the tree. Without even touching it, she could feel the tree's aura and felt a strange connection to it. As she climbed around on its giant roots, she found both another, broader, path that ran along the edge of the forest and something else altogether.

Held against the front of the tree and what appeared to be in a deep sleep, was a man but unlike any she had seen before. He looked exotic and wild, yet serene and was quite beautiful. He wore red, traditional garb of a Japanese man, though without sandals. His skin was tan and his long, silvery-white hair seemed to float as it was gently moved by the soft breeze. However, what completed the look of being exotic were his claws and the two triangle-shaped dog ears upon the top of his head.

Tilting her head to the side, she thought, 'He's a half demon?'

Growing up in a time where there were few demons left, a half demon was even rarer, or at least she thought they were. Neither demons nor half demons were shunned for not being 'fully' human but most just blended in with everyone else; they were just another race. Sometimes, it was hard to tell what a person's heritage was since most looked like humans. Yet, even with the few she had met and knew were different, they seemed so… boring compared to the one who rested before her.

Walking closer to the slumbering half demon, she reached out and touched the thick briar vines that were holding him against the tree. Instantly, the vines started to twist and pull away from the tree and its victim. After the last of the vines moved, the half demon started to fall forward. Not wanting him to get hurt, she quickly reached out, grabbed him, and sat him up against the tree.

Kneeling beside him, she stared into his face expecting him to awaken. After a moment more of not seeing any change in his status, her eyes slowly lifted toward his ears.

'They are so cute!' she cheerfully thought. 'I wonder what they feel like…'

Not being able to deny herself any longer, she reached up with her hands and gently rubbed his ears. She smiled, 'They are so soft and warm.'

After what seemed like only half a second, two clawed hands reached up and grabbed her forearms tightly. Her body locked up and she paused in her ministrations of the adorable ears and looked down into a pair of golden color eyes. She could hear the half demon growl at her.

"What are you doing?"


	3. Games of Ka & Dog

Author Notes: Sadly enough... I still don't own Inuyasha. I just like to write. Hope you enjoy (sorry for the delay!) & let me know what you think!

*~ Crystal Jade ~*

* * *

'Oh my, he has really gorgeous eyes. They look like pools of liquid gold.'

The golden pools narrowed at her, breaking her from her trance. Mentally shaking her head, Kagome finally remembered his question and lightly blushed at her absentmindedness. Kagome's blush only deepen once she saw how close she was to him and she let go of his ears. She began to move away slowly from the half-demon in front of her only to be stopped by his hands that were still on her arms. She started to get nervous.

"I…uh… I was…"

She took a big gulp of air, calmed herself, and tried again. "I'm sorry for touching your ears. I thought you would wake up once the briar vines released you. When you didn't, I started to check you for other injuries and I got…. Distracted."

She wasn't sure if he would strike out against her or not so she tried again to put some distance between them. Once he let go of her arms, she stood and stepped backwards but put herself on guard. She wanted to be ready for an attack, just in case.

"Do you usually go around touching strangers, Wench?" he growled out at her as he lifted himself off the tree's roots.

She took another small step back. "Usually, no. But like I said, I'm sorry for touching you but I am glad to see you are awake."

He sneered at her and flexed his claws. "Yeah, right. You humans are all the same: stupid, pathetic, and just plain cold-blooded. You wouldn't care if _half-breeds_ are alive or not." He crouched low and looked ready to strike. "Your mistake was in not making sure I was dead before you touched me."

He suddenly took off in a straight line, coming straight for her, claws extended.

Not thinking of much else except for her safety, she quickly stepped out of his direct path and ran towards the tree he had been pinned against, passing him as he went for where she once stood. Jumping up onto the tree roots, she gripped the lowest branch and swung around it like it was a gymnastic bar. She landed feet first onto the tree branch and turned quickly around. If not for the dire situation, she would have giggled at his tilted head and confused expression. 'Aww! He's so cute; looks like a puppy!'

Remember his words, Kagome started to get angry at his rush in judgment and yell at him from the tree, "Now wait just a minute! Not everyone is like that! I do care about others, whether they are demons, half demons, or humans! I don't know where you get off judging me but I had no intention of hurting or killing you. You were stuck to a tree and I got you down!"

Once again, his eyes narrowed and he growled out, "Keh! Like you could actually hurt me! You are nothing but a human. So, don't act like you care! It was your kind who put me in that tree, Wench!"

Kagome growled back impressively, "My name is not Wench! It's Kagome! KA-GO-ME! If you are going to imply that my 'kind' did something, at least call me by my name! Besides, it wasn't me who stuck you to that tree, so lay off. I just got here, Dog Boy!"

Growling menacingly, he made a flying leap at her. Kagome jumped to another tree branch on the other side of the tree. As he jumped onto her branch, she hopped backwards on the branch to maintain distance. When he made for her again, she jumped and ran up three more in a stair-step pattern. She watched him smirk playfully, like this had become a game of tag instead. He jumped to the branch she was currently standing on.

With a mischievous glint, he asked, "Now where are you gonna go?"

He swiped out at her with his claws, visibly slower than before. She let herself fall; catching herself on the branch she originally started out on.

He smirked down at her, "Stop playing games, Wench!"

She smirked back, "What? You can't catch a measly human, Dog Boy? A girl one at that?"

Letting herself drop back to the ground, she spoke, "And it's Kagome. Is your brain still catching up after your nap against the tree?"

"Keh!"

The half-demon jumped down to right in front of her and suddenly pinned her against the tree with his left hand around her neck. He raised his right in a position to show he was about to slice through her. However, Kagome did not move or flinch. He narrowed his eyes at her, and dropped his smile. His clawed hand came down and stopped mere inches from her non-flinching face. He took a sniff into the air.

"You are not afraid of me." He said more than questioned, tilting his head slightly.

"No," she answered back. "You seem like a good person, even if you don't know it yet. And apparently, some mere human has betrayed you and you are taking it out on me."

He growled and tightens his hand around her neck, though, still not to the point where she would be unable to breathe, "She was no mere human. She was a sorceress, pretending to need help. How do I know you are not the same?" He looked down at her outfit. "You seem strange enough."

Kagome reached up with both hands and gently laid her hands on his extended arm. She spoke just above a whisper, "I'm not a sorceress, at least not as far as I know. I guess you could say I am time traveler. And I don't want anything from you but your name."

She watched the half demon look at her with a blank expression, like he was trying to read her and see if she was telling the truth. Finally, after a moment, he lowered his arms.

"InuYasha."

"InuYasha," she said, testing out the name. Giving him a friendly smile, she responded, "Nice to meet you, InuYasha."

He nodded his head in her direction. He began, "What is…"

He did not get time to finish his question before his head whipped quickly to the left, looking out down the dirt road, eyes searching for some unknown source. Suddenly a crash echoed through the forest and a loud voice called out.

"Wherrrrre arrrrre you half brrrrreed? I know you arrrrre awake. I can feel yourrrrr prrrrresence again."

Kagome watched InuYasha crouch down and grit his teeth together at the half breed insult. She grabbed her bow and an arrow from behind her and quietly asked him, "What is it?"

Still looking down the path, he replied just as quiet, "A demon; a centipede one by the smell and sound of it."

She nodded once to acknowledge what he said. Arming herself for a battle, she tried to listen for the demon's approach.

"Come out, come out, wherrrrreverrrrr you arrrrre, little doggy lorrrrrd. I'm mighty hungrrrrry."

Crashing out from between two trees further down the road, a giant centipede barreled onto the path. The centipede had several arms and legs that were yellow and were attached to black and blue body with an off white underbelly. Looking closer, Kagome saw that the demon was a woman with long black hair and small eyes.

The demon licked her lips and fangs while calling out, "Therrrrre you arrrrre. My, my, you look as tasty as everrrrr. Oh, and you brrrrrought me, Mistrrrrress Centipede, desserrrrrt too."

InuYasha took off sprinting towards the demon, claws out. "I will be no one's dinner tonight!"

Kagome watched InuYasha and Mistress Centipede battle back in forth in trying to get the upper hand. The centipede was using her many arms and fangs, while InuYasha fought with his speed and claws. Not one to sit back, Kagome ran towards the battle, bow drawn. She shot an arrow into one of her arms.

The demon turned to her and taunted, "Oh, you want to play too?" The demon started to rapidly spin her body into a tornado-like motion, the force whacking Kagome into a tree, knocking the wind out of her. She could hear InuYasha calling out to her, "Get up, Wench!"

When she could finally breathe and see straight, Kagome sat up and found InuYasha dangling by the neck by one of Mistress Centipede's arms. The demon licked his face and suddenly bit into his shoulder. Kagome cried out at his groan of pain, "INUYASHA!"

Feeling the suffering for her new friend, Kagome suddenly felt a strange aura come over her, needing to help him, protect him. Kagome stood up quickly and grabbed her bow and drew an arrow once more from her quiver. Taking a deep breath and pulling the bow string back, she felt her arrow heat up in a pink light. Looking at the arrow, she thought, 'Well… That's new.' She yelled at the demon, "Hey ugly!"

Mistress Centipede lifted her jaw from InuYasha's shoulder, her fangs dripping with his blood, to look at Kagome.

Smirking from the power she could feel, she called out, "Tag, you're it!" and released the pink arrow. The arrow flew and hit against the arm that was holding InuYasha up, instantly disintegrated it. InuYasha landed and jumped, clawing up the demon's abdomen.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

Kagome watched as the rest of Mistress Centipede's body disintegrated into nothing but ash.

InuYasha landed next to Kagome, smirking at her, "Not bad, Wench."

Smiling back, she replied, "Not bad yourself, Dog Boy."

Before she had a chance to say anything more, shouts of men came up from the other direction of the dirt path. A large group of men came over the ridge carrying shovels, pitchforks, and some with bows and arrows.

Kagome sighed loudly and leaned over; speaking quietly, knowing InuYasha would hear her, "Talk about out of the pan and into the fire."


End file.
